Itawamba County seeks quotes on clinic roof repair

In late August, Pasty Collins, Mantachie Rural Health Care’s acting CEO, requested the board’s help with fixing the roof of the clinic’s former location and current home of the company’s dentistry office, which has reportedly rotted and is leaking significantly.

The estimated cost of replacing the roof and fixing all of the water damage is around $10,800. The building is owned by the county, but leased by Mantachie Rural Health Care. Collins asked that the board either help pay for the repairs or roll the expense of replacing the roof into the monthly lease.

But several supervisors raised their eyebrows at the estimated cost of the repair and stated that they believed it to be excessive.

“That’s pretty high,” said Supervisor Eric Hughes.

County Administrator Gary Franks suggested the board consider providing Mantachie Rural Health Care with a loan to cover the repairs — money that would be repaid over a three-year period.

“I think they would probably reimburse us in the form of rent, which is something they’ve done before,” Franks told the board.

According to Franks, Mantachie Clinic doesn’t pay a rental fee for use of the building, although it does make monthly payments of $112 for a previous loan issued by the county.

But according to board attorney Bo Russell, the clinic has fallen nearly $4,000 behind on its payments for that previous loan … news that made the board take pause at issuing another.

The board discussed several alternatives to funding the repair, including partial funding or even putting the building up for sale.

Regardless of what the board decides in the future, Franks said that while the building is under the county’s ownership, the board should take quotes on its repair.

“We need to get some quotes, either way,” Franks said. “The roof has to be fixed. We should get some quotes and move forward from that point.”

The board agreed and decided to solicit two quotes on the estimated cost of the roof’s repair.